International League Most Valuable Player Award

Most Valuable Player Award Canada The International League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's International League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. Broadcasters, Minor League Baseball executives, members of the media, coaches, and other representatives from the league's clubs have previously voted as well. Though the circuit was founded in 1884, it did not become known as the International League on a consistent basis until 1912.

The first Most Valuable Player Award was not issued until 1932. After the cancellation of the 2020 season, the league was known as the Triple-A East in 2021 before reverting to the International League name in 2022.

Thirty outfielders have won the MVP Award, the most of any position. First basemen, with 28 winners, have won the most among infielders, followed by third basemen (14), shortstops (10), and second basemen (5). Five catchers and four pitchers have won the award.

Seventeen players who have won the MVP Award also won the International League Top MLB Prospect Award (formerly the Rookie of the Year Award) in the same season: Don Buford (1963), Joe Foy (1965), Mike Epstein (1966), Merv Rettenmund (1968), Luis Alvarado (1969), Roger Freed (1970), Jim Rice (1974), Mike Vail (1975), Rich Dauer (1976), Scott Bradley (1984), Dan Pasqua (1985), Randy Milligan (1987), J. T. Snow (1992), Chris Colabello (2013), Steven Souza Jr. (2014), Rhys Hoskins (2017), and Joey Meneses (2018). From 1932 to 1952, pitchers were eligible to win the MVP Award as no award was designated for pitchers. In 1953, the International League established a Pitcher of the Year Award (formerly the Most Valuable Pitcher Award). Two players have won the MVP Award on multiple occasions. Rocky Nelson, who was the MVP for 1953, 1955, and 1958, has the most wins. Roberto Petagine won back-to-back in 1997 and 1998.

Twelve players from the Rochester Red Wings have been selected for the MVP Award, more than any other team in the league, followed by the Columbus Clippers (9); the original Buffalo Bisons and Norfolk Tides (8); the Pawtucket Red Sox and Toronto Maple Leafs (7); the Durham Bulls and Syracuse Mets (6); the Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Royals, and Toledo Mud Hens (5); the Newark Bears and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (3); the Buffalo Bisons, Indianapolis Indians, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Louisville Colonels, and Richmond Braves (2); and the Charlotte Knights, Columbus Jets, Louisville Bats, and Memphis Redbirds (1).

Fourteen players from the New York Yankees Major League Baseball (MLB) organization have won the award, more than any other, followed by the Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox organizations (10); the Cleveland Guardians organization (9); the New York Mets and Tampa Bay Rays organizations (6); the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinalsorganizations (5); the Toronto Blue Jays organization (3); the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins organizations (2); and the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Washington Nationals organizations (1). Eight award winners played for teams that were not affiliated with any MLB organization.

Winners

Position	(#)	^
Indicates the player's primary position
Number of wins by players who won the award multiple times
Indicates multiple award winners in the same year

Year	Winner	Team	Organization	Position	Ref(s).	(1)	(2)	(3)	(1)	(2)
1932	Toronto Maple Leafs
Newark Bears	Detroit TigersNew York Yankees	Third baseman
1933	Newark Bears	New York Yankees	Shortstop
1934	Toronto Maple Leafs	Cincinnati Reds	Outfielder
1935	Baltimore Orioles	—	Outfielder
1936	Buffalo Bisons	—	Outfielder
1937	Buffalo Bisons
Baltimore Orioles	—
—	Catcher
1938	Buffalo Bisons	—	Outfielder
1939	Newark Bears	New York Yankees	Shortstop
1940	Rochester Red Wings	St. Louis Cardinals	Pitcher
1941	Buffalo Bisons	Detroit Tigers	Pitcher
1942	Syracuse Chiefs	Cincinnati Reds	Pitcher
1943	Rochester Red Wings	St. Louis Cardinals	Shortstop
1944	Baltimore Orioles	Cleveland Indians	Outfielder
1945	Baltimore Orioles	Cleveland Indians	Catcher
1946	Baltimore Orioles	Cleveland Indians	First baseman
1947	Syracuse Chiefs	Cincinnati Reds	Outfielder
1948	Montreal Royals	Brooklyn Dodgers	Second baseman
1949	Montreal Royals	Brooklyn Dodgers	Shortstop
1950	Rochester Red Wings	St. Louis Cardinals	Pitcher
1951	Buffalo Bisons	—	Outfielder
1952	Montreal Royals	Brooklyn Dodgers	Second baseman
1953	Montreal Royals	Brooklyn Dodgers	First baseman	url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=nelson001gle	title=Rocky Nelson Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History	website=Baseball-Reference	publisher=Sports Reference	access-date=May 17, 2022}}
1954	Toronto Maple Leafs	—	Catcher
1955	Montreal Royals	Brooklyn Dodgers	First baseman
1956	Toronto Maple Leafs	—	Second baseman
1957	Buffalo Bisons	Kansas City Athletics	Shortstop
1958	Toronto Maple Leafs	—	First baseman
1959	Buffalo Bisons	Philadelphia Phillies	First baseman
1960	Toronto Maple Leafs	Cleveland Indians	Outfielder
1961	Buffalo Bisons	Philadelphia Phillies	Outfielder
1962	Jacksonville Suns	Cleveland Indians	Shortstop
1963	Indianapolis Indians	Chicago White Sox	Third baseman
1964	Jacksonville Suns	St. Louis Cardinals	Third baseman
1965	Toronto Maple Leafs	Boston Red Sox	Third baseman
1966	Rochester Red Wings	Baltimore Orioles	First baseman
1967	Richmond Braves	Atlanta Braves	Outfielder
1968	Rochester Red Wings	Baltimore Orioles	Outfielder
1969	Louisville Colonels	Boston Red Sox	Shortstop
1970^	Rochester Red Wings	Baltimore Orioles	Outfielder
Columbus Jets	Pittsburgh Pirates	First baseman
1971	Rochester Red Wings	Baltimore Orioles	Shortstop
1972	Louisville Colonels	Boston Red Sox	Outfielder
1973	Rochester Red Wings	Baltimore Orioles	Outfielder
1974	Pawtucket Red Sox	Boston Red Sox	Outfielder
1975	Tidewater Tides	New York Mets	Outfielder
1976^	Rochester Red Wings	Baltimore Orioles	Second baseman
Syracuse Chiefs	New York Yankees	Shortstop
Toledo Mud Hens	Cleveland Indians	First baseman
1977	Pawtucket Red Sox	Boston Red Sox	Third baseman
1978	Pawtucket Red Sox	Boston Red Sox	Catcher
1979^	Columbus Clippers	New York Yankees	Outfielder
Pawtucket Red Sox	Boston Red Sox	First baseman
1980	Columbus Clippers	New York Yankees	First baseman
1981	Richmond Braves	Atlanta Braves	Outfielder
1982	Columbus Clippers	New York Yankees	Third baseman
1983	Toledo Mud Hens	Minnesota Twins	Second baseman
1984	Columbus Clippers	New York Yankees	Catcher
1985	Columbus Clippers	New York Yankees	Outfielder
1986	Pawtucket Red Sox	Boston Red Sox	First baseman
1987	Tidewater Tides	New York Mets	First baseman
1988	Rochester Red Wings	Baltimore Orioles	Third baseman
1989	Tidewater Tides	New York Mets	Third baseman
1990	Columbus Clippers	New York Yankees	Outfielder
1991	Syracuse Chiefs	Toronto Blue Jays	Outfielder
1992	Columbus Clippers	New York Yankees	First baseman
1993	Charlotte Knights	Cleveland Indians	Third baseman
1994	Norfolk Tides
Rochester Red Wings	New York Mets
Baltimore Orioles	Third baseman
1995	Norfolk Tides	New York Mets	Third baseman
1996	Toledo Mud Hens	Detroit Tigers	Third baseman
1997	Norfolk Tides	New York Mets	First baseman	url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=petagi001rob	title=Roberto Petagine Minor, Japanese, Mexican & Korean Leagues Statistics & History	website=Baseball-Reference	publisher=Sports Reference	access-date=May 17, 2022}}
1998	Indianapolis Indians	Cincinnati Reds	First baseman
1999	Durham Bulls	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	First baseman
2000	Syracuse SkyChiefs	Toronto Blue Jays	Outfielder
2001	Durham Bulls	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	Catcher
2002	Louisville Bats	Cincinnati Reds	Outfielder
2003	Columbus Clippers	New York Yankees	First baseman
2004	Buffalo Bisons	Cleveland Indians	Shortstop
2005	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons	Philadelphia Phillies	Outfielder
2006	Durham Bulls	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	First baseman
2007	Toledo Mud Hens	Detroit Tigers	Third baseman
2008	Pawtucket Red Sox	Boston Red Sox	First baseman
2009	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees	New York Yankees	Outfielder
2010	Durham Bulls	Tampa Bay Rays	Third baseman
2011	Durham Bulls	Tampa Bay Rays	Outfielder
2012	Pawtucket Red Sox	Boston Red Sox	First baseman
2013	Rochester Red Wings	Minnesota Twins	First baseman
2014	Syracuse Chiefs	Washington Nationals	Outfielder
2015	Buffalo Bisons	Toronto Blue Jays	First baseman
2016	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders	New York Yankees	Outfielder
2017	Lehigh Valley IronPigs	Philadelphia Phillies	First baseman
2018	Lehigh Valley IronPigs	Philadelphia Phillies	First baseman
2019	Norfolk Tides	Baltimore Orioles	First baseman
2020
2021	Toledo Mud Hens	Detroit Tigers	First baseman	url=https://www.milb.com/fans/postseason-all-stars	title=Postseason All-Stars	website=Minor League Baseball	access-date=May 17, 2022	url-status=live	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006131417/https://www.milb.com/fans/postseason-all-stars	archive-date=October 6, 2021}}
2022	Durham Bulls	Tampa Bay Rays	First baseman	url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=aranda000jon	title=Jonathan Aranda Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics	website=Baseball-Reference	publisher=Sports Reference	access-date=November 8, 2022}}
2023	Memphis Redbirds	St. Louis Cardinals	First baseman
2024	Columbus Clippers	Cleveland Guardians	Outfielder	last=Avallone	first=Michael	url=https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/minor-league-baseball-triple-a-all-stars-and-award-winners-2024	title=Here are the 2024 Triple-A All-Stars and Award Winners	website=Major League Baseball	date=October 2, 2024	access-date=October 2, 2024	archive-date=October 2, 2024	archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241002183839/https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/minor-league-baseball-triple-a-all-stars-and-award-winners-2024	url-status=live}}
2025	Norfolk Tides	Baltimore Orioles	Outfielder